Exploring the Roles of Vulnerability, Exposure, and State Dependence on Stalking Victimization

• In Event: Cyber-victimization: Types and Correlates

Abstract

The present study examines explores the relationship between offline and online stalking victimization against college students with a multi-theoretical framework. Specifically, using primary survey data collected from a large sample of college students at a midsized southern university, concepts central to the routine activity approach and the vulnerability thesis (low self-control) are tested. Results of structural equation models suggest that the relationships between these theoretical concepts, and their relationships with offline and online stalking victimization, are complex and nuanced, as is the relationship between offline and online stalking. Overall, the results support the application of these perspectives in predicting offline and online stalking victimization, and further suggest that classical criminological and victimological theories can be suitably applied to non-traditional contexts and crimes.

Authors

• Ryan Randa, Sam Houston State University

• Brad W. Reyns, Weber State University

• Ashley K. Fansher, Avila University